Wake Up
by Maddimyth
Summary: Sakura steps in to heal Sasuke after a lethal attack leaves him immobile on the ground. But when Obito reaches her first, Sasuke doesn't reach her in time, and is left to deal with the consequences he never thought he would have to bear. There's only one thing he can do... During the War, when Obito had the Ten Tails in him. SasuSaku. A bit Angsty but Fluffy. c:
1. To Protect

I haven't written anything in a long time, and I pretty much forced myself to write this up. Going through a lot right now, didn't honestly think I had it in me.  
But here you go! Hope you guys like it, and let me know what you think. It's been a while though, I'm pretty rusty.

_And, of course, I don't own Naruto._

The explosion from Obito's wrath was incredibly lethal. Someone finally breaking past his barrier and landing a hit on him had been such a disturbance to his "ego", Obito's chakra had boiled over and he unleashed an attack so deadly that the offensive team in front knew just by instinct to take cover. The blast sent a wave across the battlefield so intense it swiped the lives of those vulnerable standing too close, and flung the bodies into the sky like ants in a windstorm. Susano stood as a protective barrier before Sasuke and Naruto. Meanwhile the Fourth had managed a type of seal barrier to protect himself and the Second Hokage at his side. That alone hadn't been enough protection, and they too were thrown back into the crowd and debris. What was once a broken battleground was now a sheet of earth dotted with giant, multiple holes. This was truly a battle you would only hear in legends, or stories before bed time. And the death toll was only increasing...

Picking himself up from the ground, Sasuke could feel his limbs weaken at such a strain to simply lift his body, and he staggered back down. Frustrated and low on chakra, he heaved once more before calmly taking a defensive stance. Sasuke immediately took note that Naruto was on his feet already, and hid his anger behind his smooth expression. When their eyes met they exchanged a nod, and Naruto's smile widened to a confident grin on his face before he took off from his spot and back to where they were. The Mangekyō Sharingan flickered back to place in Sasuke's eyes, and-

"Wait!" a voice cried behind him, the familiar call taunting his memories for a moment before the flash of pink from his past teammates hair caught the corner of his vision. Sasuke almost groaned in irritation. He watched her rush to his side, analyzing her simple movements as she kept her eyes away from his and concentrated on whatever was on his back that had piqued her interest.

"Sakura, I don't-"

"If you don't pay attention to your injuries, they could grow to be a fatal problem later." she interrupted him quickly, but the blood in her veins was on fire. This could be considered an act of betrayal, healing Sasuke, especially in the view of hundreds of fellow Ninja. But the gash in his back had gone unnoticed and was tainted with dirt, she knew it would halt a left handed attack in the future with it being so close to his muscle tissue. What if he tried to use Chidori?

"I don't need your _help_."

Growling lowly, he stepped away from the woman and launched himself towards the images of his "comrades" ahead of him. Sakura stayed back, lowering her green chakra covered hand to her side, the familiar frustration of being a medical ninja eloping her mind as she fought the urge to run after them. As Sasuke became just another blur in the distance like before, she retreated back to search for anyone that could use her assistance, trying to ignore the feeling in her stomach, her head low. Sasuke never listened to her.

The battle continued to rage on furiously, after discovering that Senjutsu was Obito's weakness, it was proving to be a real battle changer as each Ninja used the best of their abilities to weaken him. Their shouts and eruptions were so fierce as the team in front struggled to discover what they could do to simply damage him. Onlookers watched with admiration and fear, the rest of the war continuing to do their part and fight back the endless white enemies that swarmed over them.

Sakura and Hinata had decided to creep around the outer edges of the battlefield to find the few neglected survivors, in hopes to revive them and send them on their way. They were all running out of time; The medical team was healing all they could and people were still dying. Perhaps they would find more, Kakashi had been missing for a while and there could be an ambush just waiting for the perfect time to strike. Constantly on a lookout, Hinata's Byakugan made sure to alert her pink-haired teammate of any enemies trying to be sneaky. And the ones that did find them were met with the fists of the two lethal women, clearly proving they could hold their own _and_ finish their duty even while at a war.

"How many have we found since we left the front?" Hinata asked quietly as they finished healing another wounded Ninja and leaving to find more.

"So far... Seventy-seven." Sakura voice shuddered while she spoke under her breath, revealing her signs of exhaustion only to her trusted teammate. It had been thirty minutes since they left. The time ratio versus the people they had treated was only increasing... The only thing they could do now, was work faster. Hinata frowned, and as they leapt across the broken trees she outstretched a hand to press it to Sakura's shoulder. Glancing from the corner of her eye, Sakura watched as Hinata lightly healed Sakura, and even gave her some chakra to boost.

Sakura couldn't help but feel guilty, and they both stopped for a second to look down at the main attraction at the front. A figure suddenly was bashed from the sky with such a force that when they hit the ground it shuddered and vibrated under their feet. It was a sickening thud, and panic rose in her features that made her take a step closer. Sakura's blonde team mate on the field suddenly cried out, and the ring in his voice was all too familiar.  
"Sakura... that was Sasuke." Hinata whispered beneath her breath. Sakura's eyes widened, and without hesitating, she let herself soar towards the one she claimed she loved. There wasn't much restraint left in her to stay away, she had to take action now.  
Although, she didn't make it far.

Sensing a ridiculous amount of power behind her, she turned to meet the new Ten-Tailed Jinchuuriki face to face. Obito had been sneaky, she thought as her limbs were quickly bound by the black ten-tails chakra he had been throwing around. Fear overtook her senses immediately but flight or fight mode kicked in within seconds, and the next thing she knew she was forcing herself to hold perfectly still, terrified of being sliced up like she had seen with the other Hokage. Sakura would not run, but she knew she had to fight in a different way than throwing around colossal punches this time. But why did he target her?  
A cry from Hinata in the background caught Naruto's attention, and when their eyes met and his blue gaze followed from the tip of her pointing finger to the body of Sakura imprisoned in the sky with Obito, he let out a bellowing shout. The two remaining Hokage followed his gaze, unsure of where the enemy had gone until now.  
"Don't you dare touch her! It's us you're after!" Naruto shouted, unable to hide the panic in his blue eyes. "Sakura-!"  
"Quit your obnoxiousness, idiot." Obito hissed beneath his breath, Sakura's eyes fixated on the form of Sasuke struggling to his feet below her and holding his forehead. _It was him..._ she thought to herself, nausea rocking her stomach briefly. Struggling from the choking hold of Obito's chakra, the marking on her forehead began to glow. Noticing this, Obito laid into her an immense amount of pressure, and she choked out a screech.  
"NO!" Naruto boomed, the form of Kurama taking place behind him once more.

"Do what you want, you're wasting your time, Obito." she choked out as she watched Naruto approach them. The marking revealed itself from her forehead and was slowly spreading itself across her head, despite Obito's attempt at stopping it. She willed the power within her to activate again, trying to heal herself the best she could.

The team below shouted and began to make their move. Without so much of a clue, Naruto and anyone trying to reach them was interrupted by a black wall of chakra, no doubt it being the Ten-Tails chakra. She whimpered in exhaustion at this new obstacle, and even when the Kyuubi blasted it with a ball of his own chakra, the barrier rippled like water to absorb the monstrous impact.

Obito's low laughter met Sakura's ears first.

"Don't you want this to stop? Wouldn't you want a world full of happiness? Don't you want peace?" he cooed to the ones on the ground below him.

"That world is a lie, Obito, you would be running from the truth!" Minato countered. Obito frowned at his sensei, shaking his head.  
"Naruto, don't you want a world where your parents are alive? A world where you could have anything you want? Be anything you want?"  
Naruto glanced over at Minato. His father's arm was missing and ripped from where it used to be, and the gray in his eyes proved that he was deceased. His expression twisted into a sad smile. It ached in his heart, of course it did.

"This is my home." he said sternly, the Rasengan twirling impatiently in his palm as his mind raced on how to place another counter attack. "I refuse to live a lie!"  
Anger bubbled inside of Obito, and Sakura inhaled slowly as he hovered even closer toward her. When he lifted his hand to touch her, her eyes widened intensely, only catching the glimpse of Sasuke on the ground before her eyes met black.  
"Let me demonstrate something that may change your mind."

A roar exploded from overhead, and his eyes snapped open to watch as Kurama leaped overhead with Naruto on his back, using his abilities to combine the sage mode and the Nine-tails chakra. His eyes narrowed to get a glimpse of Obito in the sky, and Naruto's usual rushed movements were quickly avoided... yet the force behind it, and the fury that Sasuke could practically taste in the air... meant something. Something had happened while he was out, even if it was only just a few seconds. The Mangekyō Sharingan blinked in his eyes once more, and as soon as they did, his eyes snapped to a figure in the sky dripping in blood.

The Uchiha blood in his veins turned to ice when he realized who it was.


	2. To Save

Had to push this out tonight. Let me know what you think~  
This was a lot of fun writing. :D

... as usual, _I don't own Naruto._

* * *

Flashbacks of when Sakura and him were young teammates scorched his mind. When she held his arm over her shoulder despite how tired she was just to support him after fights that took too much of a toll on his body. Then there was the time when he was in too much pain and immobilized on the ground, Sakura had jumped in the way wielding only a Kunai in her defense... Just to protect him. When Naruto had described over a bowl of ramen (that he couldn't even finish) how much Sakura screamed and cried over Sasuke's body during their first mission when she thought he had died. This was similar to those times. Sasuke, in his defense, had gone insane once trying to protect Sakura and always told Naruto to protect her when he couldn't.

His heartbeat echoed in his ears, deaf to the screams around him and still frozen to the ground with his hand clenched around the hilt of his sword. When her body was released and fell from the sky, he watched her plummet to the ground, her blood trailing after her messily. Why was he feeling so cold? Why did watching her die feel wrong? He had a mission, he had himself to focus on, those ties with Team 7 and Konoha had been broken for this purpose. Sakura was a part of his old life, she had others to take care of her now. But when she got closer and closer to the ground, and Naruto was too engaged in battle to help, he realized no one was going to catch her. This was war. A pain wrapped itself around his heart and squeezed.

It was only old instinct that he reacted, he told himself. Disappearing in just a blur from where he once stood, his arms caught Sakura merely inches from hitting the ground. Tucking her head and legs against him, he dodged an attack from a white Zetsu and only stopped when he was away from others and safe enough to examine her.

Sakura was awake, and grinding her teeth furiously from the pain. Her breath came in shudders, catching in her throat as she gasped and coughed blood down her chin. Sasuke tried, tried the hardest in what must have been years, to keep a frown on his face and seem emotionless. He watched her open her familiar emerald colored eyes and stare at the wound on her stomach, then they trailed up to glance at the red of his eyes. Those green eyes screamed pain, and his body weakened at the sight even though he wasn't even looking at her.

She lifted a shaky hand to heal the wound in her stomach, the Byakugō on her forehead had stretched out to release the Yin Seal and her body was recovering thanks to the Creation Rebirth technique. Sasuke only then watched in piqued curiosity, unaware of this ability she had mastered. But the stored chakra in her body was diminishing too fast, and the seal was retreating back to the diamond on her forehead, the wound on her stomach only half healed and still weeping too much blood.  
"Sasuke-kun," she hissed beneath her breath, and his eyes narrowed nervously. "Your grip is too tight."

Realizing she was right, and loosening the hold a bit, she moaned in pain and squeezed shut her eyes again. Sasuke felt panic rise in his stomach, his mind racing to find a way to help her, to save her. Or a way to kill Obito, both would be equally satisfying right now-

"Tch," he grunted under his breath, turning his head away to hide the emotion in his eyes. Why did he feel weak right now, out of all times? He had a bad feeling about this.

The glow of green on her hand covering her stomach, and she concentrated to fix the wounds and tie herself back together.  
"Thank you," she muttered under her breath, opening one shaky eye to look up at him. Her whole body was shaking at this point. "I'll be okay, thanks to you."

Sasuke didn't look to her. He wanted to, but felt more stable when he couldn't see her. Staring at her right now, years later and actually in his arms, dying and stronger than he ever thought possible, was too much. Way, way too much. This man had killed his brother, watched him die again, abandoned his village and previous people, murdered hundreds of others in the process and gave into power and hatred, but this was different. This was Sakura, the girl that took the place the hole in his heart from when he lost his family, and the tiniest part of him would admit that Team 7 could be the only "family" he had left.

Sasuke only realized this once he had actually let her go.

"Why did you intervene?" he growled, letting the anger shine through. It was better than seeing him like...

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.  
"It's my duty as a medical-"

"To obviously put yourself in a situation to be killed?"

"To heal and protect others!" she cried out angrily, moving just enough to tweak the wound and she hissed under her breath, upset at herself to let anger get the best of her healing.

Sasuke looked back to her, watching her face twist while her mind raced with whatever the hell she was dwelling over, staying silent the whole time. What happened to the rambling girl he used to know, that spoke whatever was on her mind, foolish or not? The adrenaline must have worn off, because she threw her head back when she had to stitch back together one of her torn intestines. Sasuke forced himself not to flinch in reaction to the torment she was dealing with.

Unexpectedly, she turned and buried her face in his chest, bearing the pain the best she could. Sasuke stiffened at the contact, grinding his teeth to fight back the emotions building in his chest, fearing for her life again. She still wasn't fully healed and his concern for her depleting chakra was only growing.

An explosion around him interrupted his train of thought and caught him off guard, but he simply dodged it and disappeared off to an even farther distance. Obito would have to wait.  
"I've always envied your's and Naruto's strength," she suddenly whispered against him, forcing his heart rate to elevate. He stopped when he found a decent sized hole in the ground, figuring "underground" was a good enough shield and they were hidden from the war that suffocated them.

"I'm only strong for you guys. But it's never... enough," she breathed shakily, the green aura around her hand fading away, leaving the healing done on the hole in her stomach unhealed and still dangerously open. Dropping her hand, it hung off the side of her body, and her breathing continued to shake and shudder, slowing down dangerously.

_No._  
"Sakura," he muttered beneath his breath, feeling fresh tears on the front of his chest. She opened her eyes weakly, her hanging fingers twitching to move, but didn't. A sad smile widened on her face and his eyes desperately searched her face for any sign of strength, of life, of determination. _You're part of Team 7._ The vibrant green in her eyes hadn't dulled one bit, and his breath hitched at the beauty he forgot they could hold. _You can't..._  
"You are not fucking dying in my arms today, Sakura," he growled to her, and she shook her head so slowly he almost thought he had imagined it. She simply shut her eyes.

"Seems like it's all I could ask for," she breathed, taking a deep breath but failing when her lungs forced the air straight out of her. "To die in the arms of the one I love."  
Sasuke stopped breathing at this point. What- still? Why? It was after a few seconds of shock he realized that her breath was far too shallow, and it would be only luck if she lived in the next few minutes. He could feel something boiling inside of him. Panic surged through his veins at full force now, and the usual still movements of his body were now shaky and unexpected.  
The Mangekyō in his widened eyes were swirling violently, and his legs shook in horror, buckling so he actually fell to his knees. "_The Sharingan, the eye that reflects their feelings." _Oh how the mighty fall, and how would he fix this? He could not heal. He was the enemy.  
Sasuke brought her body closer so her face fit right into his neck, his teeth clenched to bare the familiar emotion of loss that was mercilessly exploding inside his heart. He and Naruto helped push and make Sakura strong, she was not weak anymore, and he knew that. He could _see _that. Her willpower and courage equaled those of great strength, and she was an incredible Shinobi. But she needed a boost, a jump start. Anger and fury fueled Sasuke's needs, but what was Sakura's? There had to be more to it than this.  
Then, it hit him so hard it almost made him reel back in shock. Sasuke and Sakura were opposites, but not as much as he had convinced himself. Anger and fury wasn't the only thing that fueled him. His Clan proved that. Fear suddenly overwhelmed him, challenged him, and he shut his eyes and struggled to focus on reality. If only once in his life... let it be now. He owed it to her, and he knew it. This may be the last chance he ever got.  
And so Sasuke, the true mighty last Uchiha, gave in.  
Bringing his hand up to cup her pale face, his thumb swiped across her cheek and caught the only tear that had threatened to stain her face. He leaned back to look at her, the smile on her face she was prepared to take to her grave still wide on her face. Admiration suddenly combined with the rest of the feelings he felt at that moment. Sasuke leaned his face closer to hers until he could count her eyelashes and notice the freckles on her nose that used to be much more noticeable when they were kids. Pressing his forehead to hers, Sasuke focused to pour some of his own storage of chakra into that seal of her's atop her head.

They were so close their noses grazed each other's at every deep breath he took, and even more so when her eyelashes brushed against his own when she opened her eyes. Sasuke, never being so emotionally close to someone in his life, could only stare back at her. _Dazzling green to stunning black and red..._  
When her mouth barely broke open to speak and he felt her shuddered breath on him, he felt his heart peak, and something inside him broke and he pushed himself forward, pressing his lips to her's.

* * *

... I know, cliffhanging like crazy over here.


	3. To Love

This is it guys. c: Hope you enjoyed this! I loved the reviews, made me all giddy and happy (especially your's 24jadeguns), thank you so much. :D

* * *

Clearly, Sakura was dead.

Or so she thought for a second until the pain seared through her stomach again, but all she could focus on was what Sasuke was doing. He was suddenly _everywhere –_ holding her, touching her face, pressing against her body, and _actually kissing her_. If she was not dead, she had to of been dreaming. Or something. Hell she didn't care at this point.

Weakly, after the shock wore off and another tear snuck out from the corner of her eye, she pressed back into the kiss. Once widened eyes melted down to half-lids, shutting contently. Warmth spread through her frozen body like a searing hot iron, pooling in the middle of her stomach and spreading across to her limbs. It spread even more when the rough hand on her face brushed past her ear and she felt his fingers entwine in her messy pink strands, bringing her even closer.

The smile never left her face, and when he leaned back he turned his head to press his lips back to her, catching her trembling lower lip in a better lock than before. Passion burst within him, but he knew she was too weak to push her farther. This was almost uncharacteristic of him, he was always so full of anger and force, that to break like this and treat her so frailly like he used to when they were kids... meant something.

She gasped against his lips, and greedily Sasuke caught them in another kiss before letting her go. He didn't move far of course, his forehead still stuck to hers as he released his chakra into her body in pulsing waves. But what amazed him was how he couldn't, just fucking couldn't pry himself away from her. His fingers clenched the tattered green vest around her shoulders, his hand sliding up her form so he could squeeze her shoulder.

How could he abandon something so precious?

"I'm not leaving you to die," he muttered, shutting his eyes tight to concentrate on keeping his voice steady. "You have to heal yourself. Hurry up, Sakura."  
With his chakra almost completely depleted, he could feel the familiar buzz of fatigue in the back of his head, but his grip on the woman in his arms did not falter... yet.  
Sakura was lost. Completely and utterly lost, with a mix of confusion as to what had just happened. Sasuke had just done more than simply kiss her, and she honestly could die happy at this point. But the roar in her heart suddenly caught her attention, and the heartbeat that had been dwindling on the edge just moments ago was suddenly screaming in her chest. Bringing her closer arm back to her stomach, she summoned more chakra to her hand and continued where she left off. Not without pushing into his forehead with her's, fresh tears searing down her cheeks.  
"I can't believe, after all these years, you would-" she started, her voice bubbly with the emotion that drove her to her strongest points all her life. _Love. _The girl would probably even giggle if she wasn't in such a weak state.  
"Don't even start right now," he mumbled under his breath, failing to hide his embarrassment and the crimson tint across his cheeks, opening his eyes to steal another glance at the reaction on her face. Sakura was shaking now, and he knew it was from his actions. _Good._  
"Then do me another favor and s-send a clone to Naruto, we need more chakra than this."

_Damn woman, I told her she was the smartest in the group,_ he suddenly thought before his head reeled back in surprise to her words. Why hadn't he thought of that?! Could have avoided...  
Not like he could honestly admit he would have wanted to avoid what happened at this point.

Now that he had an even better look at her face just by backing up a few good inches, he could see the color in her cheeks as well. It looked much better than pale to the death, and her eyes hadn't stopped staring at him, watching him, absorbing him. He had finally opened up to her, even just for a moment, and even now still. Leaning back against his chest, she broke the eye contact to look back down at her wound, the main damage already taken care of as she stitched back together the main tissues and veins that would shield her insides.

Sasuke comfortably rested his chin atop her head, both to their own amazement, sighing heavily under his breath.

Mustering up the strength to make a hand seal and creating a substitution clone with a broken log on the ground, the second Sasuke leapt out of the ravine and into the spray of the battlefield. Racing across the disturbed earth stained with blood every couple meters, he leapt up towards Kurama and over to orange colored hero without wasting any time. His old comrade and rival turned to face him with an alarmed expression, before his classic, contagious grin broke across his face.

He had no idea the condition of his team member, did he?  
"Sasuke! Where did Sakura-"

"Sakura is hurt. Give me some of the Kyuubi's chakra." he interrupted, shutting his eyes to ignore the irritation creeping up on him that Naruto always seemed to awaken.

The grin on his face immediately broke, his expression bleak and worried. Those bright blue eyes examined Sasuke's condition, taking note of tremendous amount of blood that soaked the front of his attire. Taking a step forward, Sasuke laid out his arm in front of him to prevent him from bolting away from the frontline and to his comrade's side.  
"Naruto, you're stupidity is going to kill her if you abandon the battle right now." he growled, the Sharinga flashing angrily in his eyes. Grabbing a fistful of Naruto's shirt, he shook him once before shoving him back. He could hear the beast below them growl warningly.

Staring down his best friend, Naruto only hesitated a couple seconds before placing his palms together and shutting his eyes, and immediately Sasuke was cloaked in the orange chakra that undoubtedly was the nine-tails. Sasuke looked down at his hand, feeling the power boil through him and almost instantly recharge him. Man, did it feel good. Turning on the spot, Sasuke readied himself to soar back to the hole his real body was at.

Naruto's hand shot out to grab his forearm before he did.

"Thank you for helping her." he spoke warmly, but his eyes shined with determination. Sasuke stared back for a moment, then simply nodded back to him. The voice in the back of his head asked, "_What the hell are you doing?_" for the third time in the past ten minutes, but grinding his teeth seemed to fight away his concerns for now.

Plummeting back to the ground and running straight for Sakura, he dived into the hole and found his true self and her in the same position he had left them.

The clone divided the chakra amongst them before disappearing and Sakura wasted no time to finish fixing herself up. Naruto's chakra worked wonders, it truly did, acting as a speed boost to her healing just like it did for Naruto. In just seconds she had mended herself completely back together, and when she was finished she set her hands on her stomach peacefully.

Sasuke sat up from his fallen-to-the-knees position, no longer weak and weary like he had been just moments ago, thanks to Naruto. He had to bite his tongue at the jealousy that always seemed to linger at the back of his mind towards his rival. Gently but without wasting time, he helped Sakura to her feet, relief washing over him when she stood without stumbling or weakness. Moments ago, she was on her deathbed. Sasuke hadn't felt so distressed since he discovered the truth about his brother.

His fingers itched when he was no longer touching Sakura; He'd been holding her for so long, and the memory of him losing her made him realize how much he could never break that bond with her.

Both facing each other, she stared back at him shyly, his expression simple and questioning. But what did he want, or expect now? He didn't even know what to do. Glancing to the side once before looking back, she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped before any words came out. Looking away again, Sasuke heard her growl lowly under her breath, and he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Her arm shot out to grab the front of his white collared shirt, and she aggressively pulled him down towards her, crushing their lips together in a much more needy kiss than before.

Sasuke felt his heart flip excitedly in his chest, his hands hovering at his sides in shock. She unleashed him to trail her hands up his chest and around to the back of his neck, and he felt a shudder rock his body. Sasuke hesitated cautiously before he kissed back just as hungrily as she had. Breaking away to hug him, she couldn't help but laugh lightly, her breath tickling Sasuke's senses along with the back of his neck. This was all so foreign to him, and the emotions buzzed like a speaker in the back of his head. Sakura squeezed him tightly, her thumbs brushing affectionately on his shoulders.

"Well that answers my question," she couldn't hide the happiness from her voice, and he could already hear that smile on her face. "That I don't have to be dying before you kiss me again."

Sasuke smirked against her hair, lifting his arm to tug her torso closer.

"Hn."


End file.
